Some Food For Thought On The Tigers' Start

Like most in this town, I have been impressed with the Tigers’ start. I like the way they have rallied from behind to win several games. There is good energy on this team, both on the field and in the clubhouse. It’s fun to watch players, who enjoy playing what I think is the beautiful game (No, it’s not soccer). The bullpen and Miguel Cabrera have been terrific. The championship pedigree of Phil Coke and Johnny Damon is rubbing off. Rookies Brennan Boesch and Austin Jackson have been a big cause for the energy surge.But are the Tigers really that good? I’m not sure. It’s still early in the season. The jury is still a long way from coming in. And there is some evidence to suggest, well, the Tigers’ start ultimately may not be much more than, well, a good start:- Last year at the this time, the Tigers had the exact same 22-16 record. They were 24-16 at the 40-game mark everyone pays so much attention to since Sparky Anderson made such a big deal of it when he was the Tigers’ manager.- How many people in this town talk about the remarkable Blue Jays or the amazing Padres? Those two clubs have better records than the Tigers, and the Reds have the same number of losses.- The Tigers are 14-5 at home. They are 8-11 on the road. They head out West to play Oakland and the Dodgers, the latter in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, after a two-game series at Comerica Park with the White Sox.- Now the Tigers did reasonably well on their last West Coast trip, 5-6. They will get a break in LA because Andre Ethier, the best player in the major leagues this season (.392, 11 HR, 38 RBI) will likely miss the series because of hand injury.

No doubt, the 2010 version of the Tigers is fun to watch. It looks to me like they will finish a tad below the Twins, unless we do better in our season series with them. The Valverde addition gives them a chance. And Armondo Galarraga could be key. Dave

It's been a fun ride so far. Dombrowski's moves re the pitching staff seemed mostly coherent, but there were so many of them that fans were likely confused.

Who woulda thunk that the Tigers could lose their top 3 relievers, Rodney, Lyon and Seay, and not lose any ground? Those guys were good enough to compete with, but Dombrowski's vision (and Seay's bad luck) led them down another path, and it's working out so far.

If their starters get consistent, the Tigers will be a tough out for any team.

About Me

Pat Caputo is a sports columnist for The Oakland Press. Caputo covered the Tigers from 1986-98, and Lions from 1998-2002 for The Oakland Press before becoming a columnist. Caputo was raised in Birmingham and played baseball and football at Groves High School. His photograph playing high school sports appeared in The Oakland Press. He has won numerous writing awards, including first place in column writing from the Michigan Associated Press and the Michigan Press Association, and from the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has been named among the Top Ten sports columnists in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), and has won honors in four of the APSE's six national award categories. He has garnered top national honors for his column writing and sports writing from the Local Media Association. Caputo, who has resided in Oakland County since he was nine years old, currently lives in Lake Orion. Caputo has a radio show weeknights and weekends on 97.1 FM, The Ticket, which is the flagship station for the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings. He also appears regularly on FOX 2 television on "SportsWorks."